The customer

Babcock International Group is a world-class engineering, training and technical support services company.

Thousands of organisations covering a wide array of business disciplines rely on the company to get the best out of their people.

Babcock’s training capability encompasses three core services - the management of training; the design, development and delivery of training; and the provision and management of training infrastructure. It has its own sophisticated purpose-built training facilities and also works with clients’ existing training assets to ensure they are utilised to drive greater efficiency and reduce costs.

Training experience, insight and commitment to quality makes Babcock International a trusted partner of many industry-leading organisations in the UK.

The challenge

Babcock trains RAF pilots, retailers, drivers, fire fighters, scientists, motor mechanics – in fact individuals in many diverse areas of business.

Its core objective is to deliver tailored training solutions for all of its clients and it works with Pearson to deliver Apprenticeships in the hospitality and retail sectors, the adult and child care sectors and across several business admin and management functions.

The challenge in all of these areas is to find the required number of young people to fill roles and skills gaps in each sector and, by increasing retention rates and facilitating the progress of individuals, to provide a tangible long-term return on investment to each customer from their recruitment process.

The solution

Working with Pearson, Babcock provides a portfolio of sector-specific Apprenticeship solutions to its client base of employers, with each programme tailored to the relevant business’s need, to improve outcomes for customers and learners alike.

There has been a greater emphasis on Higher Apprenticeships in recent times, as Babcock moved to complement its predominantly level 2 and level 3 Apprenticeship offer to incorporate levels 4 and 5 and give more apprentices the opportunities to advance their training and gain the skills required to progress in their careers with their companies.

Pearson’s support enables Babcock to be both flexible and very responsive to its customer needs. Throughout the phased introduction of Higher Apprenticeships, for instance, Pearson has, as required, regularly been on-site to train Babcock staff to deliver the programmes.

The two companies also work closely strategically, to ensure that the offer of Babcock continues to match the demands of the marketplace as the Apprenticeship market evolves, particularly at this point in time as trailblazer qualifications come into play.

Case study: Babcock International Group

The outcome

As its Apprenticeship programmes and framework are delivered to customers across so many different sectors and working environments, outcomes will obviously be different for different clients. However, case studies on two of the company’s biggest clients illustrate the impact that Babcock’s delivery, in conjunction with Pearson’s supporting framework, can have.

Case study 1:

Since May 2013 Babcock has provided a national Apprenticeship solution to one of the UK’s largest supermarket retailers, Asda. It has supported over 8,400 apprentices since launch and continues to deliver a vibrant and refreshed approach to its Apprenticeship programme. The Asda Retail Apprenticeship Programme offers more than 30 job specific pathways, ensuring Asda colleagues working in every retail environment benefit from a tailored approach to programme design that meets the varied requirements of a multi-skilled workforce.

The programme has achieved a range of return on investment measures, with retention and the continuous upskilling of colleagues being the cornerstone of the delivery model. The Asda Retail Apprenticeship programme is delivering above the national average in terms of success rates and is having a substantial impact on retention and learner progression. Providing further evidence of the strength of this solution, the partnership between Asda and Babcock has been showcased as an exemplar Apprenticeship model through multiple awards including STF Large Employer of the Year 2014 and STF Success in Partnership 2015.

Case study 2:

Working in partnership for 15 years, Babcock developed the Marriott Culinary Apprenticeship Academy in partnership with Marriott Hotels Group, to develop high levels of technical skills for young professional chefs, supporting an increase in technical skills, professional standards, team working and staff retention.

The Marriott Culinary Apprenticeship Academy sets itself apart from the standard Apprenticeship framework through the addition of master classes, classroom delivered workshops, market supplier visits and competitions, all carefully designed to extend the technical knowledge and skills of each Culinary Academy Apprentice.

Chef apprentices from Marriott hotels join peers from all over the UK to attend the Academy, allowing them to benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities alongside effective peer-to-peer support.

Marriott first launched in 2012 with 16 apprentices and the success of the programme has led to the creation of over 40 Apprenticeship Academy vacancies being filled for the 2015-2016 cohort.

* Babcock was also recently awarded the prestigious title of Training Partner of the Year at the Semta Annual Skills Awards - just ahead of National Apprenticeship Week in March.